Saturday, November 12, 2011

Cruising Through School

Don't be fooled by the twin beds and stacks of books on Darwin. Molly Malarkey's dorm isn't like others at St. Mary's College of Maryland. The lounge downstairs has chandeliers and panoramic views of the St. Mary's River. Someone comes by to change the sheets and collect laundry. And, in a wardrobe, there are the orange lifejackets.

For the rest of the semester, the 18-year-old Malarkey and 239 other students are living aboard the Sea Voyager, a cruise ship about the length of a football field now docked at the school's southern Maryland campus. Earlier this semester, after heavy rains exacerbated a mold problem in two dorms and made some students sick, the school moved students out and put them up in hotels...

The party won't last for long, however. The school plans to have the students' dorms renovated and mold free by the end of the semester.